ollibear

Yesterday, I went to work for a teacher in-service at my school. Now, I have two lesson plans to write by Friday for that class I took last week. I have 12 more days of summer vacation before I go back to work for teacher work-week. And then, after Labor Day weekend, I go back to work.

I have a lot of house cleaning and organizing that I hope to get done over the next 12 days. I have procrastinated and not done it yet. So once I have those lesson plans written, I need to bite the bullet and do it. Most of the work involves going through clothes, toys, and household items to give to charity. Also, I have a lot of accumulated paper (junk mail, school stuff, mementos, etc.), and I need to go through that and throw things away. Then, I can dust and vacuum and mop, and start the school year off right!

Has anyone heard any news about Switched at Birth, recently?

I'm watching Switched at Birth continuously.

When I first discovered the show on Netflix, in late August of 2012 (about four years ago this weekend), I watched those first 22 episodes several times, before the Season 1C premiere This Is the Color of My Dreams. That's the episode where Emmett meets Bay at Blue River Road, and she tells him, "You ripped the fabric apart. You can't just tape it back together with words."

Then, after that, I only watched the remainder of the series one time. After Season 1B, Switched at Birth has never again inspired me to watch with multiple viewings. A spark has been missing from the TV series. It died when Bay drove away from Emmett on Blue River Road, and it hasn't returned. I don't even think the missing spark had to do with Bay & Emmett's relationship, though. It's the writing. It hasn't been as good or as consistent after Season 1B.

Season 1C sucked. I don't know what happened, but the writing was bad. Something big must have happened behind the scenes, to throw the writers off their game.

Season 2A had moments of greatness. I love Human/Need/Desire and Uprising. I've watched those two episodes multiple times. Both of those episodes focus on the Deaf characters. Every time Switched at Birth strays from the Deaf point of view, the story suffers. That's the element that makes the show extraordinary and unique.

In Season 2B, I liked As The Shadows Deepen, The Merrymakers, and Departure of Summer. I've watched those three episodes multiple times. Ecce Mono was interesting, but I haven't felt a need to go back and rewatch it.

Season 3A was the worst season of all. I don't know what happened there, but it was bad. I do like the last few minutes of Love Seduces Innocence, Pleasure Entraps, and Remorse Follows, when Bay and Emmett make love for the first time. And I like Bay and Emmett's scenes in Dance Me To The End of Love, along with that heartfelt family dance. The lyrics to Dance Off Time made me want Emmett to be there with the family so badly. The lyrics say, "And if we multiply, I hope to God they get your eyes, And we get something that you can't divide, 'Cuz baby you are the one." Those lyrics were supposedly meant for John & Kathryn, but they felt so much as though they were meant for Bay & Emmett, especially in that moment, after they'd just returned from their trip to that old time Las Vegas setting.

Most of Season 3B was good again. I haven't rewatched all of the episodes, but I do regularly rewatch Love Among the Ruins, Like a Snowball Down a Mountain, and Oh, Future!. I also rewatch all of Emmett's scenes in the remainder of this season. He isn't the focal point of the story, and yet, Sean Berdy did some of his best work here.

The writing in Season 4 was good again. It was still missing some intangible spark, but I liked the story. I've rewatched We Were So Close That Nothing Used to Stand Between Us, Fog and Storm and Rain, There Is My Heart, To Repel Ghosts, and Instead of Damning the Darkness, It's Better to Light a Little Lantern multiple times. The other episodes in Season 4 haven't really inspired me, though. I have rewatched the scenes between Bay and Tank, during the sexual consent storyline, trying to ascertain what happened between them, but I don't enjoy those scenes.

For the entirety of the series, all 93 episodes so far, I have watched and rewatched and rewatched again, every single one of Emmett's scenes. Those bring me a lot of joy.

Yeah, for every scene with the character of Emmett, I've gone back and watched those scenes dozens of times, maybe scores of times. Characters who do not interest me at all sparkle when on screen with Emmett. I'm not sure if it is the actor, or something about the way that the character is written, or some unidentified force within the story, but there's something about Emmett that that makes everything snap, crackle, and pop. I wish the writers had featured the character more often.